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<channel>
 <title>Voscur blogs</title>
 <link>https://www.voscur.org/blog</link>
 <description>Welcome to Voscur
Voscur is a council for voluntary service (CVS)
we work to support voluntary and community action in Bristol
 </description>
 <language>en</language>
<item>
 <title>Learning from Lockdown: Governance and Zoom</title>
 <link>https://www.voscur.org/blog/learning-lockdown-governance-and-zoom</link>
 <description>&lt;div class=&quot;field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-item even&quot;&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Learning from Lockdown: Governance and Zoom&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field field-name-field-article-image field-type-image field-label-hidden&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-item even&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://www.voscur.org/sites/default/files/styles/node_image/public/Zoom%20Meeting_0.jpg?itok=LQfS5QgP&quot; width=&quot;510&quot; height=&quot;346&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field field-name-field-date-provision-is-due-to-b field-type-date field-label-hidden&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-item even&quot;&gt;&lt;span  class=&quot;date-display-single&quot;&gt;Thursday, 10 September, 2020&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-item even&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;

&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/sites/voscur.org/files/editors/linwhitfieldphoto.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Blog &lt;/span&gt;written by Lin Whitfield, Chair of Trustees at Voscur&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;

&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Do you remember the old days, when you hadn’t even heard of Zoom? How times have changed.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The Voscur Trustee Board, which meets roughly every six weeks, had a full board meeting scheduled for 17 March but it was, of course, cancelled. We rescheduled it for a month later and held it on Zoom, but we realised afterwards that we had no provision in our Articles of Association for trustees to meet electronically. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Fortunately, we were able to deal with this on a temporary basis. The &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-the-charity-sector&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Charity Commission’s advice&lt;/a&gt; on their website states that if there is no such clause in your governing document and you decide to hold board meetings over the phone or “using digital solutions”, they will understand as long as you record this decision in your minutes and state that you’ve done this to demonstrate good governance. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;However, checking our Articles of Association also revealed that they dated back to 2012 and were almost certainly in need of updating. We were using our own interpretation of procedures for the retirement of trustees; we were sometimes struggling to comply with quorum requirements; and our geographical area of benefit was in danger of being compromised in some of our partnership work. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;We began a thorough review process of our Articles which will culminate in an Extraordinary General Meeting of members at the end of September (&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.voscur.org/calendar/event/voscurs-extraordinary-general-meeting-egm&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to book your place) to agree a number of amendments. This will give Voscur a more appropriate governance framework to operate under.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;So, here are our first two pieces of learning as a result of lockdown:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;It’s worth checking out your governing document every couple of years or so to make sure it’s fit for purpose.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The Charity Commission isn’t just our regulator as charities – it’s a good source of advice.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;In the early days of lockdown, Voscur’s work shifted rapidly and frequently as we were asked to coordinate, lead and facilitate to enable and support our sector to respond to the emergency. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The Voscur Board found Zoom invaluable for quick catch-up briefings from our CEO and held these fortnightly between early April and the end of July. Informal but highly informative, these have allowed more questions and ‘rounder’ debates on strategic issues than there’s usually time for at formal board meetings. They’ve resulted in a stronger sense of team between board members themselves and between the board and the staff. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;We, as board members, have better knowledge of Voscur and its work, which informs our overview and strategy role; and staff have more understanding of the skills, expertise and experience that board members bring, which they’re able to draw on to support their day-to-day work.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Here are two more things we learned as a result of lockdown:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Informal catch-up briefings on Zoom are a brilliant way of keeping board members up to speed in a fast-paced environment.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Board and staff are two teams within a bigger team: building that sense of team is vital as we move forward.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;If you are a new board member, or you’d like to refresh your knowledge of trustee rights, responsibilities and obligations, don’t miss our bestselling course, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.voscur.org/calendar/event/being-good-board-member-1&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Being a Good Board Member&lt;/a&gt;, on Tuesday 13 October. This online course will give you the knowledge and confidence to be a successful trustee, and the chance to meet your peers from other boards. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field field-name-field-core-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Core Category:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-item even&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/core-categories/governance&quot;&gt;Governance&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
 <pubDate>Thu, 10 Sep 2020 16:38:48 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>pollya</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">97979 at https://www.voscur.org</guid>
 <comments>https://www.voscur.org/blog/learning-lockdown-governance-and-zoom#comments</comments>
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<item>
 <title>Blog: Online training with Voscur during COVID-19 </title>
 <link>https://www.voscur.org/blog/blog-online-training-voscur-during-covid-19</link>
 <description>&lt;div class=&quot;field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-item even&quot;&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Blog: Online training with Voscur during COVID-19 &lt;/h2&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field field-name-field-article-image field-type-image field-label-hidden&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-item even&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://www.voscur.org/sites/default/files/styles/node_image/public/Zoom%20Meeting.jpg?itok=dEi7O1Sv&quot; width=&quot;510&quot; height=&quot;346&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field field-name-field-image-credit field-type-text field-label-inline clearfix&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Image Credit:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-item even&quot;&gt;Raw Pixel&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field field-name-field-date-provision-is-due-to-b field-type-date field-label-hidden&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-item even&quot;&gt;&lt;span  class=&quot;date-display-single&quot;&gt;Wednesday, 2 September, 2020&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-item even&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table&gt;

&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/sites/voscur.org/files/editors/Maria%20Franchi%20Voscur.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Blog &lt;/span&gt;written by Maria Franchi, Training and Development Officer at Voscur&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;

&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Voscur is proud of its &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.voscur.org/calendar/upcoming?tid=7779&amp;amp;field_core_category_tid=All&quot; rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;training offer&lt;/a&gt; – we provide interactive and practical training across the local Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We also add value with the opportunity for people to get to know and work alongside those from other organisations and to feel part of a wider, supportive community. People often comment on this in their training evaluations; it’s clear they appreciate the chance to share their experience and expertise, to network and to make useful contacts.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;However, lockdown challenged the way we work, and brought an end to face-to-face courses and events. Our problem was how to continue to provide the training and its added value at a time when everyone was on a steep learning curve, reacting to the challenges of COVID-19, and training needs were high.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I’ve never been a fan of online training; I thought it cold, boring, one dimensional, non-participatory and too focused on theory, so I was reluctant to replace our lovely shiny offer with something a lot less sparkling.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Nevertheless, the training and events team set to work pushing the boundaries of Zoom. Our aim was to be able to say that we could deliver the same high-quality training, with the same level of participation – that we could do anything online that we could do face to face.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We started off with breakout rooms (the ability for people to work on a task together in small groups, created by the Zoom host) which were key to our added value. Each week we discovered new ways to boost the experience: using whiteboards, annotating them and our PowerPoints, sharing quizzes, pictures and handouts in real time, including icebreakers and energisers, participative exercises and discussions, co-producing materials in the groups, and so on. We got really overexcited and carried away, but with good reason!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We soon began to enjoy our training sessions, and so did our participants – all the feedback has been positive across the tens of sessions we have delivered online. The best bit? Everyone has commended us on the experience of being able to chat and work with colleagues from other organisations, sharing experience and expertise and making valuable connections, especially in the isolation of lockdown and working from home.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We love our online training now and we’ve proved we can do anything in our online training that we can do face-to-face, with no travelling time or costs. This is just as important in our COVID-19 recovery, when public transport is restricted and groups may have limited staff to spare.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Now it’s established and successful, we will never let online training go; it will be a permanent feature in our ever-developing offer of learning opportunities that work for the VCSE sector (and you can &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.voscur.org/calendar/upcoming?tid=7779&amp;amp;field_core_category_tid=All&quot; rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; for a flavour of what&#039;s to come between now and April 2020; we&#039;ll add more in the coming months). &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field field-name-field-core-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Core Category:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-item even&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/core-categories/coronavirus&quot;&gt;Coronavirus&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
 <pubDate>Wed, 02 Sep 2020 14:51:00 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>pollya</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">97933 at https://www.voscur.org</guid>
 <comments>https://www.voscur.org/blog/blog-online-training-voscur-during-covid-19#comments</comments>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Are foundations the answer to core funding woes?</title>
 <link>https://www.voscur.org/blog/are-foundations-answer-core-funding-woes</link>
 <description>&lt;div class=&quot;field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-item even&quot;&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Are foundations the answer to core funding woes?&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field field-name-field-article-image field-type-image field-label-hidden&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-item even&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://www.voscur.org/sites/default/files/styles/node_image/public/Fund%20Button%20Credit%20GotCredit%20via%20Flickr.jpg?itok=Bgexd8yT&quot; width=&quot;750&quot; height=&quot;475&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field field-name-field-date-provision-is-due-to-b field-type-date field-label-hidden&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-item even&quot;&gt;&lt;span  class=&quot;date-display-single&quot;&gt;Wednesday, 24 April, 2019&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-item even&quot;&gt;&lt;table border=&quot;1&quot; cellpadding=&quot;1&quot; cellspacing=&quot;1&quot;&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;Jenny Wildblook&quot; src=&quot;/sites/voscur.org/files/editors/thumb_Jenny_Square_1.png&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span&gt;Blog &lt;/span&gt;written by Jenny Wildblood, Development Officer and Funding Lead at Voscur.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div&gt; &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;I remember, more years ago than I care to think about, when no grant funder would even have considered awarding core funding. Back then the system was clear – statutory funders provided the core funding, trusts and foundations topped that up a little and kept projects going. Those of us who were fundraisers in those days well remember the formula “we will not support any costs previously met by your local authority”.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;All this started to change as statutory funding, particularly from local councils, started to melt away. And at the same time as the funding was disappearing the demand was increasing as statutory services were cut back. The result was a funding crisis for local charities who don’t have the same access to individual giving as the major players.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;It took a while for charitable funders to realise what was happening but over the last few years I’ve seen an astonishing change. Many trusts will now support your core costs, give funding for many years and even award unrestricted funds so that you can use them in any way you need.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;And now a foundation has actually produced a report that you can use to make your best case for core funding. Take a look and think about how you can use these insights to help make your charity more sustainable.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;MsoHyperlink&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk/insights-on-core-funding&quot;&gt;https://www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk/insights-on-core-funding&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field field-name-field-core-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Core Category:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;field-item even&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/core-categories/funding&quot;&gt;Funding&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
 <pubDate>Wed, 24 Apr 2019 09:03:27 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>richard@voscur.org</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">95055 at https://www.voscur.org</guid>
 <comments>https://www.voscur.org/blog/are-foundations-answer-core-funding-woes#comments</comments>
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